Class of 2014: Freshman Blog

With summer winding down, most of my friends are getting excited about returning to college or going away for the first time. When the inevitable college talk starts, you tend to quickly realize that while the school you go to seems like the absolute most unique and incredible one in the entire world, there are a lot of similarities within the top schools. While they may be called different things, my friend Kelly will be leaving for the Cornell version of Pre-O on Wednesday; Lily’s “core” at Georgetown is eerily similar to our distribution requirements; and Iain has been sending the students in his “Orientation Leader” group emails just like the ones I sent to my “Peer Ambassador” group kids. All this has made me wonder, what does make a college special? Is there anything that is truly unique to Hopkins? Obviously my classmates and faculty are a huge factor in making Hop one of a kind, but that’s true for any university! However, I know there’s a reason I chose Hopkins over every other school in the country. Here are some of the things that make Hopkins absolutely unique:

1. Top graduate and professional schools with full-access for undergrads: I’ve never heard of a medical school with faculty so willing to let undergraduates participate in research, not even to mention that it’s one of the best programs in the country! At Homewood, it seems like the research question for pre-meds is “when” not “where” or “how.” Everyone I know who has wanted to work in a lab has had the opportunity to do so, which is ridiculously impressive! Several of the grad schools, like Bloomberg and SAIS, allow undergrads to take classes with graduate students; the Public Health major even requires it! Nowhere else have I seen such collaboration and continuity between all the schools.
2. Intersession: While most schools go back to school in January, our winter session is totally optional and pass-fail! And not only are these three-week courses much more relaxed, but they’re also about really interesting topics like “The Science of Cooking” or “Inventing Language.” There are also opportunities to go abroad to places like Ghana, Spain, or Italy; and freshmen have their own comprehensive courses (B’More) where they explore Baltimore and combine academic subjects with the city and community. Intersession is totally free as well (including housing and dining), so it’s one of the best orchestrated and most fun programs I’ve ever seen at a college.
3. Covered Grades: The fall of freshman year, all grades are Pass/Fail, although professors still grade you as if your transcript will have a letter grade on it. I could talk for days about how wonderful the covered grades program is, but that wouldn’t make for the most fascinating blog post. All I can say is that there is no further proof that the Hopkins administration cares about its students than covered grades. While critics may say that freshmen goof off as a result of covered grades, I think this claim is immensely unfounded. No one wants to start college getting C’s, even if no one sees them. Instead, it gives freshmen the flexibility to not be cautious in joining clubs and organization, making lots of friends, and exploring Baltimore. It doesn’t give you a “by” on studying; it just means that if it’s a choice between spending all day studying and taking lunch off to eat with that girl from down the hall who complimented your shoes during the RA meeting, you can, since it doesn’t matter if you get a 93 or a 92, like it does during non-covered grades. I learned exactly what study techniques work for me, which rooms and library levels I study best in, and how much time it takes me to do different types of assignments. My grades second semester were better than my first semester ones because I was lucky enough to get a “dress rehearsal.” All my friends from home are so jealous of my covered grades AND all the amazing experiences I was able to have because of them.
4. JHMI Shuttle: This free bus service runs every 5-10 minutes and takes Hopkins students all around Baltimore to each of the Hopkins campuses: Peabody, JHMI, and Bloomberg, as well as Penn Station. There are also shuttles to the different medical campuses associated with JHMI, including Bayview and Mt. Washington, so students can get to their research jobs for free. You can also hop on to go to Mt. Vernon for dinner or in order to get a much cheaper taxi ride to the Inner Harbor for one of the more Southern stops.
5. Seminars: While every school has both lecture and seminar offerings, Johns Hopkins was founded on the seminar style of learning. As a result, every major has its own seminars for every grade level. Last semester I took four seminars and this semester I’m taking two! I love the individual attention and the discussion format. Over 65% of Hopkins classes have under 20 students, so it’s clear that we still place serious value on this form of teaching!

Dear Summer Before Senior Year Marina,

My very last Winter Formal :(

I know that right now you are feeling frustrated. You have just spent a month in a writing program at the school you dreamt about for years and just realized that it is not only far from a dream school, but it is a “nightmare school.” While you feel more confident than ever about your writing skills, you’re unsure as to whether you should plan your entire life around a career in the field, or focus on your second love, Science. You’ve been pouring over the websites for a number of top schools, and the only feeling you get as you scan their virtual tours or read their Student Ambassador testimonies is nausea. The Common Application was released the first of this month and your parents have encouraged you to make an account. Every single day since. You took a look at the Application and became so intimidated by the sheer number of tabs that you shut your computer and went for a run, seven miles away from your dorm room. You feel like the only life skills you are gaining during your stint in Providence are the ability to purchase more clothing than can fit in any of your suitcases and a thorough knowledge of drug culture thanks to Junky, Naked Lunch, Girl Interrupted, and The Bell Jar. Your mother called to tell you your AP scores but she was either so enthused or enraged that you weren’t sure if she said “Five” or “One.” You are confused, weary, discouraged, overheated, and bored and you have absolutely no idea how to even begin the baffling task of applying to college.

Ski Team Girls during my last season; I'm second from the left.

I’m here to tell you to take a deep breath. Drink a cool glass of water. Do a few yoga poses. Eat a bowl of vegan ice cream. In the next four months, YOU, somehow, by some sort of fairy dust or flick of a wand: prepared applications to over 15 schools; applied early decision to one; had several interviews during which the most awkward thing was introducing yourself to someone who was not your interviewer and the best was talking for three hours about school traditions and getting to skip all of your afternoon classes; didn’t even have to wake up early to check your SAT scores because you’d already been awake for half an hour to get to crew practice; bought a college sweatshirt and wore it religiously; realized that there is nothing on earth you’d rather be doing than medicine;  and received an email with “Congratulations” in the subject line. While all of these momentous events are happening, please don’t forget to do a few of these seemingly mundane things as well: always get your Collegetown Bagels coffee card stamped, take the time to write a few pages each week, hug your friend Victoria every time you see her and every time you say goodbye, practice walking in heels, set your alarm five minutes earlier, and wear crop tops more often while your BMI is still 17. When you’re sitting in your kitchen two years later feeling old and lame, you’re not going to remember what the prompt for your Hopkins supplement was, but you are going to remember how much fun you had turning Mr. Woodward’s first period Biology class into a breakfast buffet every day of the week. You will have to struggle to recall your SAT scores, but you’ll definitely be able to relive the moment you put your keys onto your Senior lanyard. The days spent filling in your date of birth and parents’ education information will meld into the nights you spent at Cornell with your friends and the sunrises you watched come up over Cayuga Lake from your seat in a freezing, green racing shell. You may think that you have only one chance to apply to college, but you also only have one chance to be seventeen, to experience the fall of your senior year, to spend continuous time with the friends who will, in a year, become long-distance for the rest of your life.

Rowing!

I’m not going to tell you to not mess anything up simply because you won’t. I wish I could tell you to savor the feeling of waking up at 5 AM in your real bed or buying your first item for college (a hot water heater). To scream until you’re hoarse at the Slightly Stoopid concert in Philadelphia that you and your best friend snuck out to the week before your birthdays. To take more pictures of the people you love and to plaster your walls with them so you never forget even a freckle on one of your best friends’ faces. In the next two years you are going to meet so many incredible people; you are going to discover a field of study that answers all of the questions you’ve been wondering about your entire life; you are going to do your own laundry for the first time besides summer camp; you are going to receive a A+’s and F’s; you are going to drive 340 miles from Baltimore to Ithaca, all by yourself; you are going to lose one of your best friends; you are going to fall in love, with a school, a major, a sorority, a city, and a boy. I promise that even though what you feel right now is frustrated, there are a million other feelings for everything that happens in the next two years. When the times comes, you won’t need to worry about how to feel, so your job is just to put everything you can into that last slalom race, clean your room a couple extra times, and find an incredible dress for Prom. This is the last time in your life when things will feel slow; right now you’re a train picking up speed and it won’t be until your freshman year of college has been over for three months that you’ll realize that there is no “off” switch.

Sincerely,

Sophomore Year of College Marina

Me driving! On a road trip with one of my friends, last year.

After four and a half hours of speedy driving and three hundred and ten miles, I’m back home in Ithaca! For the first time, I drove all by myself from Baltimore and I’ll be the first one to admit how surprised I am that I was able to 1) Complete the journey safely 2)Only stop for gas once 3)Listen to nothing but the radio the entire time. The best part about the trip was the fact that I felt so comfortable behind the wheel, it didn’t really matter if I was at mile 3 or 300 or going 20 miles an hour or 70. I’ve been driving almost every day since I was sixteen, but this was my first legitimately long solo car trip, and I’m so happy that I was able to get back to Ithaca safe and sound.

I made the decision not to take Orgo 2 in July because, to be completely honest, I was totally burnt out by the intense pace of Orgo 1. Since I’m a rising sophomore, it’s not super pressing for me to complete the Orgo sequence right now and I would much rather spend the time resting up and doing research at home. It was hard saying goodbye to my boyfriend and friends still in Baltimore, but I think going home was the best decision for me. I’ll be visiting Charm City several times this summer, since I clearly can’t get enough, including next week for the premiere of the last Harry Potter movie.

This tiger was clearly impatient to be fed!

Last week my two closest girl friends from Hopkins, Alana and Ariel, drove down from Westchester to stay with me for the weekend! The three of us had a number of delicious lunches and dinners and even drove down to Washington D.C. to visit the National Zoo. Unfortunately, it was a particularly hot day, so barely any of the animals were outside. I found it a little more than ironic that there were thousands of sweating people trekking around the park to gawk at animals that were smart enough to stay in the shade.

After going to the Zoo, we picked up my boyfriend from work and went to what is probably my favorite restaurant in Baltimore, the tapas restaurant Talara. Talara specialized in ceviche, which is a way of “cooking” seafood with acid, like lemon or lime juice, instead of heat. For some reason, they were understaffed and having major problems with their service, so it took us almost an hour just to get out appetizers. Luckily, the hostess was so apologetic that she gave all our orders of ceviche for free, as well as the huge pitcher of sangria that Alana’s and my older boyfriends had ordered for themselves. It ended up that all five of us got to eat at this incredible gourmet restaurant for under $40 when we’d ordered meals worth three times that much! I love the fact that most of the restaurants in Baltimore take hospitality to the next level; last time I was in New York, I don’t think I got my food within an hour anywhere I went and I definitely still had to pay full price!

Jai's reaction to the tiger I got him from the zoo; he's not a big animal fan...

On Independence Day, my boyfriend and I managed to drive downtown just in time to see the fireworks show (from the road). The traffic was absolutely INSANE because so many people parked on Route 83 to watch the show from the roofs of their cars. Only one lane was open and it was a serious traffic jam. Luckily, we didn’t go all the way to the Inner Harbor, so we beat the crowd going back home!

That’s all that’s been going on with me right now, but I’ll be sure to keep you updated about the new research job I’m starting next week (for a professor in the Bioengineering department at Cornell) as well as the rest of my summer in Ithaca!

This post is completely dedicated to all my gorgeous friends who have either just graduated from high school or are  just beginning their college searches. I went home this week to take a break from Orgo and had the opportunity to finally spend time with some of my closest high school friends, all of whom have been questioning me endlessly about my freshman year. Since a number of my friends are just about to go off to school for the first time, they’re nervous about fitting in, making friends, and creating all new lives for themselves away from Ithaca. My friends still in high school are struggling to find colleges that fit them and figuring out how to condense their lives into the Common Application. Since I’ve had some heart to hearts about everything from roommate trouble to Greek Life with my friends Lily, Kelly, Cassie, and Gelly, here is my official advice blog regarding freshman fall with the issues I realize are most poignant for incoming freshmen.

My little prodigies, Cassie, Kelly, Lily, and I at my graduation last year!

1. Even if you really don’t feel like it, always say yes to doing something social. I have never, in my entire Hopkins career, regretted going to a party or meeting my friends for dinner. While I’d love nothing better than to stay in my pajamas and watch netflix all weekend, it’s important to take advantage of social life wherever you go to school because there is no other experience like college. It’s definitely important to find a balance between school, activities, and social life; but especially in the early days, every social event presents potential for new friends and a ton of fun.

2. If everyone on campus knows who you are after first semester, you’re doing something wrong. I know it sounds weird, but as I was telling my friend Cassie, never underestimate the power of being under the radar – especially at first. I know I came from a high school where I was a big fish, so it was definitely a shock to suddenly be one of many big fish in a gigantic pond, but there there’s something really great about going about your life with at least some anonymity. I like that I have carved out a little life for myself where I do have a large community of friends and acquaintances who think highly of me, but I’m still meeting new people all the time who don’t raise their eyebrows when I introduce myself or somehow already know my name (I hope, discerning reader, that you know what I’m getting at). At a school as large as Hopkins, there are very few ways to have the majority of the student body recognize your name, and I can’t really think of any that are positive.

3. Freshman year friendships mimic elementary, middle, and high school ones. O week is completely like elementary school, where the people you are around become your best friends. Then, like middle school, during the rest of the semester you might develop another set of friends that, while based on concrete qualities, might be much more shallow than significant. However, by the Spring, your friendships are similar to the ones you had senior year of high school. They are meaningful and feel as if they make sense; you click in more ways than just having similar clothing styles or a favorite fraternity to frequent, and you feel comfortable and entertained whenever you’re around them. The best part of the whole progression is that it’s something almost everyone goes through, so there’s very little awkwardness involved with the friends you didn’t stay close with after the first few months of school.

Kelly and Lily, my two best friends who just graduated Ithaca High School!

4. Wait to go back to school clothes shopping until you’ve evaluated what clothing you’ll actually need for college. I didn’t realize how many going out and formal outfits I would need (thank you Facebook for documenting every weekend outfit so I can never repeat a dress or skirt!) and I was so glad that I’d saved money so I could go shopping a number of times during the fall. Also, as unfortunate as it sounds, you might gain weight freshman year and you’re going to want to be able to buy clothes that actually fit. It’s a fact of life that most people gain weight in college and there’s nothing wrong with it; there is a huge problem, however, when you’re wearing jeans two sizes two small or a shirt that doesn’t cover your bra!

5. There is absolutely no reason you should be looking for a relationship. I was in a number of serious relationships throughout high school, so I really wanted the opportunity to see if I could operate on my own in college. However, I have friends who were basically on “boyfriend searches,” something that tended not to go so well for them. My mom has a saying “With love is like health insurance, the ones who want it the most can’t get it.” If you’re actively on the prowl, ask yourself why? You have the rest of your life to be operating in tandem with someone else. Enjoy the first few months (or years!) of college independently. Establish your own routine before adding someone else’s wants and needs into the mix. And, there’s nothing more annoying than that friend that’s always complaining about not having any boys in her life; DON’T BE THAT FRIEND!

6. Make every effort to stay in touch with your friends from home, but don’t stress if you don’t talk daily or even weekly or monthly. I have some friends, like Chaney, who I talk to every single day, no questions asked. But then friends like Jacob or James, I don’t need to talk to all the time to know we’re  going to still be close and when we’re hanging out, it’s like nothing has changed at all. As long as you put in the effort to see each other over breaks and have a good friendship foundation to begin with, you should have NO trouble staying close.

7. If you’re wondering if you made the right decision to not go to school near home, think about this. There is something so special about creating your OWN life for yourself in a new city; finding that coffee shop where they always know your order, discovering tiny tapas bars or a frozen yogurt place that you could recommend to anyone, being able to make jokes about certain local customs that you’d have to explain to friends. You want to be able to be the one giving the directions when your parents come to visit and the one telling your friends about the cute neighborhoods you go on runs in. You’ll always be able to go back to your hometown and know that, no matter what, it’s still your base. But don’t underestimate the wonder in knowing TWO cities inside and out and having a life that is completely separate from the one you grew up with. Sometimes I’m a little jealous that my friends from Cornell get to sleep at home whenever they want or have their mom still do their laundry. But then I realize they also are eating at the same places they’ve been eating at for the last eighteen years, still getting their coffee at Collegetown Bagels, shopping at Urban Outfitters on the Commons. That’s not really growth, is it? Obviously while you’re away, a few things might change and you might forget all the shortcuts to your friends’ houses. But your hometown will ALWAYS be there; you don’t need to be there every day to make sure it doesn’t disappear.

Chaney, my best friend, and I still talk more or less continuously, every single day.

Disclaimer: This is not at all representative of the work load at Hopkins. I have never felt overwhelmed in any of my classes before and have received all the help I’ve needed from professors, TA’s, friends, classmates, and tutors in the past. I’m simply taking what is considered the most difficult college class in a condensed form, and I’m still doing fine. Also, I’ve been able to go to pretty much anyone with an Orgo book in front of them in the library to ask a question, so at least there’s a ton of solidarity between all the Orgo sufferers; clearly even we pre-meds aren’t too competitive.

My friend Sasha and I, Champions!

Tomorrow I have what is undoubtedly going to be the hardest exam of my life. So far, I’ve really been enjoying Organic Chemistry. Professor Klein is a delightful lecturer who keeps me interested and energized even at 9 AM. I also love how applicable the subject is to medicine and actually have fun doing problems and reading about different applications. Additionally, I did well on the first two exams and currently have an A in the class, something I’m really proud of. However, I was pretty sick in the middle of this week and lost two days of study time; with less than 24 hours to go, I have to be honest that I’ve never been so stressed in my life. I’ve always been a good test-taker, and memorization is one of my strongest points. However, trying to fit 5 chapters worth of material (i.e. the equivalent of between half a month and a month of work) into less than a week is absolutely ridiculous. I didn’t even study for the SATs and scored in the 99th percentile. I’ve spent every waking hour of the last three weeks studying Orgo (you wish I was exaggerating, but just ask my Big how many times I’ve done something social this summer) and I got below a 60 on my last practice exam. I promise to write a more interesting blog when I’m finally done with the exam! But for now here is the playlist I’ve been using to get through the last few weeks of studying:

1. Set Fire to the Rain-Adele

2. No Cocaine-Slightly Stoopid

3. If I Ever Leave This World Alive-Flogging Molly

4. Wonderwall-Brad Mehldau

5. Apologies-Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

6. Superbass-Nicki Minaj

7. By Your Side-Yves Larock

8. Eyes as Candles-Passion Pit

9. That’s Okay-The Hush Sound

10. Silver Lining- Rilo Kiley

11. Raise Your Weapon-DeadMau5

12. Chariot-Page France

13. All The Things You Are-Keith Jarrett

14. Never Say Never-Armin Van Buren

15. Show Me Love-Swedish House Mafia

And of course a VERY happy Father’s Day to my amazing daddy who was just named head of his department (Applied and Engineering Physics, #1 in the country) at Cornell!

Daddy and I at Hilton Head, cerca 1994

Instead of spending the summer in Oregon at ski camp or in Belgrade, I’m subletting my Big-Big’s apartment and living in Baltimore! While I’m here taking Organic Chemistry, a number of my Aphi sisters are here for other classes, jobs, and research. As a result, about twenty of us have created a summer “Bucket List”/”Plans List” which contains an ideal vacation for a bunch of girls stuck at school over the summer. While some of the ideas are a little far-fetched, I hope that we’ll be able to accomplish all of them! I’ve been told that summers in Baltimore are totally boring, I’ve found a ton of things to do already in my first two weeks here. Here’s a list of all the things I’ve done so far or my friends and I plan to accomplish!

1. Dinner Party [X]–> I threw my very first grown-up dinner party last friday after spending several hours cooking! The menu included Thai Coconut Soup, Mango Salsa, Hummus, Pasta, Salad, and lots of dessert!

2. Korean Karaoke at The Rainbow Room []–> We did this for my Big’s birthday this year and it was so fun that it’s definitely on the summer schedule

My Big and I at Karaoke this Spring

3. Lasertag []–> Not sure how I feel about this as I’m not really a fan of guns…

4. Honfest []–> A Hampden festival that’s supposed to celebrate traditional Baltimore! It starts this weekend!

5. Ambassador Brunch []–> $25 all you can eat Sunday Indian brunch!

6. Try every flavor of Veggie ice cream at Dominion [/]–> My boyfriend and I are halfway there! We’ve gone every day this summer.

7. Holy Frijoles $1 Taco Night []

8. Seeing local concerts like The Decemberists this Monday or Summer Massive in July []

9. Ziplining []

10. Going to the REAL beach []–> Our plans for 4th of July weekend!

11. Speed boating in the Inner Harbor []

12. $9 Fridays at the Baltimore Aquarium []

How I spent last summer, Mexico with my best friend and family!

13. Going to the Maryland Zoo []

14. Artscape []–> The largest free art festival in America!

15. $30 for 1 month of unlimited Yoga at Hampden Bikram Yoga []–> I need my mom to send my my mat…

16. Trying out Greg’s Bagels []—> Although I doubt anything in Baltimore will be better than Ithaca Bakery :(

17. Oysters at Dogwood []

18. Go to the American Visionary Art Museum to check out Summer exhibits []

19. Baltimore and Waverly Farmer’s Markets []–> I wonder if they’re as good as the one in Ithaca!

20. Fells Point Antique Market []–> Every second Sunday of the month

21. Finally go to Little Italy []–> Hoping there will be meals without tomatoes!

22. Buy groceries at Lexington Market []–> The original Whole Foods

23. Force my boyfriend to go to the Maryland Science Center []

24. Mr. Yogato in Fells Point! []

25. JHU-sponsored outdoor movies []–> I voted for Harry Potter 7 Part 1, Toy Story 3, and A League of Their Own

Hopefully, by August I’ll be able to check at least half of these off my list! I’ll let you know how it turns out. Hope everyone is enjoying their break!

XOXO

As strange as it was to see my empty dorm room and spend a five hour car ride back to Ithaca with my SUV filled to the brim with luggage, it’s even stranger spending the summer in Baltimore knowing that I am no longer a freshmen. This year has been one of the most amazing of my life and I’ve been lucky enough to have it all documented in my Freshmen Blog. As I adapt to my new Sophomore status, there are a few things I’m worried about: will it be possible for me to successfully live in my measly 100 sq foot Charles Commons room? How many times will I still be able to have dinner at the FFC? Is Biochemistry as hard as everyone says it is? Will I actually like my research position? And will anyone besides my friends and family actually read my blog? Hopefully by this time next year I will feel like these worries are silly (or will have moved moved a chest of drawers into my common room to support my unfortunate online shopping habit), just like all my fears about freshman year subsided within a few months. This year has had some of the best times in my life, and the absolute worst time of my life, and I can’t imagine any of it taking place anywhere besides Homewood campus.

My best friend, Alana, and I

Last year, for my application to SAAB, I wrote a blog in which I predicted some things that would happen last year. Being honest, I don’t remember what all of the things I wrote were except that I had hoped I would meet students from different backgrounds. Growing up in a small town, it was sometimes overwhelming how homogeneous my friends were. Being a first generation American meant that instead of spending my breaks with family in New Jersey, I spent them in Belgrade; on Christmas while other kids had meat loaf, we had Spanish seafood soup. I’m not saying I’m not saying I’m exotic or awesomely foreign because I’m honestly not; but for a small town like Ithaca I often was. So at the beginning of last school year, I was excited to meet people who also had multicultural backgrounds or who came from a whole different part of the country. This prediction was 100% true. While my two best friends and Big are from the same part of New York, I’ve made friends from Puerto Rico, China, and Israel; my boyfriend is Indian but grew up in Denmark. I have friends who are extremely conservative and friends who are even more liberal than I am. This year I’ve met amazing people who present an entire spectrum of experiences and beliefs which have challenged and enrich my time at Hopkins.

My boyfriend, one of my really good friends Diana, and her date at Formal this spring!

However, on a more concrete level, I’ve had some really great times and even accomplished a few things in my Freshman year. Here’s a re-cap of my blog and links to each entry just in case you want to go back and re-read your favorites (hahahah dream big!).

Going to the gym with my suitemate the first weekend of freshman year!

1. My First Blog: Here I wrote all about my first impressions of Hopkins and how happy I was to finally be attending the school of my dreams. While college isn’t the best time all the time, I definitely don’t regret coming here one bit and every day I feel luckier and luckier to be going to the school I am with the people I do.

2. Differences between college and high school: I realized that college is incredibly different from high school, but that’s sometimes a good thing. Even though I loooved high school, college provides so many opportunities that aren’t available to you in any other context.

3. Fall Break: I went home for a weekend in October and realized that all my friends had already started changing into their “college selves.” It was really weird to see the people I’d grown up be so different after only a few months apart.

4. Freshman Fall Classes: In this blog I described my freshman fall course load, which had changed five or six times since the summer. I took Physics I, Physics Lab, Biological Anthropology, Physiological Psychology, and Intro to Fiction and Poetry I.

5. Why Hopkins?: This is my favorite blog of the entire year. Here I write about why I chose to come to Hopkins and how the process all panned out. One of the questions I get asked the most giving tours is “What other schools were you considering?” or “Why did you choose to come here?” While it gets kind of annoying when aggressive parent ask my SAT scores or why i didn’t go to Cornell, I still love telling people all the reasons why for me, Hopkins was the #1 school in the country and I applied early.

My friend Molly and I at a mixer

6.Finals 2010: I recount my very first finals week experience at Hopkins and share with you my finals playlist (which you can download as long as you promise not to try to sell any of the songs!).

7. Some sage wisdom from a real frosh to a pre-frosh: Here are 8 tips that I find really help with adjusting to freshman year. The two most important ones are Be Flexible and Call Your Parents!

8. Winter Break and Intersession: Here I wrote about my Winter Break in New York City and on a ski trip with Hopkins friends. I also discussed the two classes I took over Intersession, Cuban Short Stories and the HERTU emergency response class. As a result, I proudly have 2 passing H credits, an EFR certification, and a spot as an instructor for the emergency response unit.

Intersession!

9. Freshman Spring Classes and Alpha Phi!: Just a few days after Bid Night, I share with you the classes I took this semester that I absolutely loved and how ecstatic I was to be a new member of Alpha Phi Sorority.

10. Rush: Here I discuss my reasons for rushing and choosing Aphi as my top choice. I am so lucky to have over 100 gorgeous, brilliant, and hilarious sisters and when I think back it’s unimaginable that there was a time when I was ambivalent about rushing.

11. The worst thing that’s ever happened to me: On February 26, Vicky, one of my best friends suddenly passed away. This entry was one of the only things that helped me cope during the winter and spring; and while it’s been three months, I have a long way to go before I’m okay with the situation, but having a super strong support system has definitely made it a little easier to cope.

12. Spring Break and the advent of Big-Little Week: I spent my Spring Break in Belgrade, Serbia and was incredibly anxious about Secret Week, which was coming up the week after. My Big provided me with lots of entertainment through my Big-Little Facebook page where she posted tons of cute pictures and chatted with me anonymously.

13. All about me: Here I published a common blog for the recently accepted Class of 2015 where I shared some info about myself and the reasons why I loove Hopkins.

My Big and I!

14. All about my big: One friendship this year has really stuck out moreso than any other (no offense to any of my other wonderful friends!) is between me and my Big, Bryn. I knew that I wanted Bryn to be my big since Pref night of rush and since that day the two of us have become unbelievably close. She and I are literally twins (all our friends remark how they can’t tell us apart since we look and act so similarly) and both of us have helped each other through some really difficult times this semester. Even though Secret Week wasn’t much of a secret for me (since she and I went one-to-one), she still made it my favorite week of the year!

15. Sight-seeing Hopkins, Marina-Style: Here I discuss my favorite places to point out when giving tours and how they’ve shaped my freshman year.

16. Packing 101: After moving out of my dorm, I realized there are a lot of ways I can improve upon my packing methods for next year. Here’s some advice to pre-frosh who aren’t sure how to go about fitting their life in a dorm room!

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog this year! I know I had a great time writing it and can’t wait to see what Sophomore year bring me!

Paige, Rosa, and I at the beginning of Freshman Year

Saying goodbye to Hopkins was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever experienced. It feels like I just moved my exorbitant amount of clothing and accessories into my Building A room yesterday, even though all of it is now sitting on my living room floor in boxes and trunks. Part of me wants to sit here and write a sappy blog about how much I love freshman year and how quickly it went by, but I’m not ready to do that just yet. I still have one last paper due and it still hasn’t sunk in that I’m never going to have meal swipes again, so for now I’ll provide a more practical narrative about packing for college.

My Pham at Formal, Insert Big Big here!

As I moved most of my worldly possessions off the Hopkins campus, it became painfully obvious just how much stuff I actually own. Seriously, it felt like the boxes just kept coming and coming from under my bed… But in all seriousness, I completely overpacked for freshman year, although not in the ways my mother warned me about. Here’s a concise list of things you definitely need and definitely can leave at home for your freshman year.

Freshman Year Must-Haves:

1. Rain gear. Get two pairs of boots, three slickers, quick dry running gear, anything you can think of. It rains a lot in Baltimore and I know you’ve heard it before but marble is slippery!

2. Extra first aid stuff. Not only are all the stores around campus totally overpriced when it comes to tylonel or benedryl, but it’s also a huge pain to get a nasty paper cut and realize you’ve run out of bandaids. I spent the entire first semester relying on JHU_Nick to bring me his bag of pills whenever I was sick. Although it was a great way to bond, it wasn’t very convenient or productive for either of us. Buy this kind of stuff in bulk and keep a bottle of medication in your backpack for those long nights at the library.

3. Shoes that you don’t care about. If you’ve ever gone to a party or concert, you know it’s not exactly the best place for Tori Burch flats or Frye boots. During your freshman year you will go through a lot of shoes from going out and you’ll really regret it if they were expensive or meaningful. Stock up on plain flats, sandals, and heels that go with everything and that you won’t mind if they get mud on them in the Pike basement or stepped all over at the Fall Fest concert.

4. Extra storage boxes/shelves. I probably brought more than the average Hopkins student to college, but I think that everyone has more stuff than can fit in the furniture provided by the school. Get boxes that can easily fit under your bed or stackable shelves for clothes and other trinkets that you wouldn’t just want sitting out. It helps organize your room and makes move-in and move-out way easier because you can pre-pack all your clothes and not have to worry about putting everything away when you get to campus or bringing suitcases or cardboard boxes.

5. Kitchenware. For people who live in Wolman this might be a little self-explanatory, but even if you live in the AMRs or Buildings A/B you are going to eat in your room. And while it might be tempting to just take a dozen of the pre-packaged utensils from the FFC, it makes a lot more sense to have your own plates, bowls, and cutlery. Not only is it more environmentally friendly, but washing your own dishes=totally beginning your transition to adulthood.

Everyone agrees date parties are really fun!

6. Formal clothes. In high school, you probably only wore a serious dress a few times a year. However, at a college with an active Greek Life and athletic community, chances are you’ll be going to date parties and formals several times a semester. One of the unfortunate things about the digital age is the fact that nearly every social event is documented extensively, so the day after any social function there will be dozens of pictures of you strutting your stuff in that formal outfit. If you’re like me and hate the idea of being seen in the same dress twice in one semester, you’re probably going to need to stock up on cute formal wear before you get on campus (I have gyet to find a dress thats both formal-appropriate and my style at the Towson mall). You might be asking how many formals are you really going to go to? Well I’m in a sorority, so that’s three per semester, then I have a boyfriend in a fraternity, so another three, and then I’ve been asked to at least five other formals with guy friends of mine just for fun–> 17 formals/date parties in one year!

You absolutely don’t need these things:

1. A printer. I know some people find having their own printer more convenient, so maybe it’s worth the investment. However, I bought a printer when I first got to school and I’m going to be completely honest: I never turned it on once. You’re probably going to be in the library writing most papers anyway, so you can just print right there. The library is on the way to getting to the rest of campus, so you can just go there on your way to class. And there are several other printing options around campus including the Digital Media Center in the Mattin Center. At least for freshman year, I think this is an expensive item that won’t really get used, so if you’re trying to find out ways to save in your school shopping, this is definitely one area to do so.

2.Tee Shirts. This is more specific to girls who only wear those plain tee shirts when they work out, but you get so much free clothing during Orientation and all week long that there’s really no need to bring a ton with you to college. Bring your favorite five or so and then leave the rest at home. I’ve accumulated probably close to 40 new tee shirts this year, and that’s a pretty conservative estimate!

Two of my best friends, Paige and Alana, and I at Homecoming. All our shirts were Hopkins-made that we got this year!

3. Binders. Unless you’re taking a class that’s super handout-heavy, don’t bother. This is one of the most disappointing parts of my list because I bought a ton of super cute binders before freshman year; unfortunately I have yet to use even one of them. Hopefully I’ll find the opportunity in the next three years so they don’t go to waste!

4. An Alarm Clock. If your phone was made any time after 2000, it probably has an alarm system in it. My cute, portable alarm clock sat on my bedside cabinet all year sans batteries.

5. A whole new wardrobe. In slight contradiction to my formal-wear bullet point, don’t buy all the clothes you think you’ll need for freshman year the summer before. I swear, your style will change (I actually shop places other than J Crew now!) and you’ll want to save some graduation money for when it does, especially if you’re like me and you de-stress during mditerms and finals by online shopping. I know it’s so tempting to get a ton of clothes before getting to campus, but spread out the shopping throughout the year and you’ll be a lot happier.

Hope these tips helped! Have a great summer everyone!

Two of my closest Aphi friends, Diana and Steph, and I at Formal. They won't be around next Fall and I'll miss them tons!

As a member of Blue Key, I spend every Monday from 11-12:30 showing prospective students and parents around Homewood campus. While we receive formal training and a handbook about each location on the tour, each guide makes their tour unique, putting their own spin on Hopkins’ landmarks. I know my tours are fueled by the experiences I’ve had this year, and as my freshman year is coming to a close, I want to write about the personal touches I have on my tours.

My Big and I at Homecoming!

1. The Glass Pavilion- This building is not only one of the most interesting architectural landmarks on campus, but it’s also a place where one of the most important parts of my Hopkins experience started. This hall is often lent out to student groups for large events; it holds career fairs, fundraisers, conferences, etc. It also it one of the rooms used often in sorority recruitment and is the room in which bids are revealed. In February, I sat nervously in the Glass Pavilion in a white dress with an envelope taped to the back of my chair, hoping desperately that the invitation inside was red and silver. Finding out that I was a part of Alpha Phi was by far one of my best experiences at Hopkins and I can’t wait for three more years of watching my new sisters scream and celebrate in the Glass Pav.

2. The Beach- My friends from L.A. say that this grass circle in front of MSE Library is nothing like a real beach, but for an Upstate NY Local, it’s about as good as it gets. I never thought I’d have so much fun sitting on a towel on a grassy lawn and yet I do it all the time, during Spring Fair, Homecoming, and nearly every other day of the Spring.

3. The Rec Center- The JHU Recreation Center is one of the nicest athletic buildings I’ve seen on a college campus. Everything is bright, modern, and new and there’s always enough equipment and space to go around. So many memorable events have been held here including Lupe Fiasco, Milkman, and Hood Internet concerts, Spring Fair’s Blackout Party, and even the Student Activities Fair the first week of school where I signed up for all the activities in which I participate now. Something I plan to use to the freshmen in my Peer Ambassador group to attend the Fair is that I met my boyfriend there when he was DJing for WJHU and we’ve dated the entire school year!

My Boyfriend and I at my formal this Spring

4. MSE Library- Everyone has their own feelings about the library but I have to be honest, this might be my favorite place on campus. There’s a level to meet my every need, Cafe Q has the best food (especially chocolate covered rice krispy treats!), and there’s nothing funnier than being interrupted by the 11:45 PM announcement that the Circulation Desk is about to close. I socialize at the library, study at the library, feast at the library, and though I’ve yet to actually sleep there, I’m sure that within three years I will accomplish that as well.

5. FFC-The Fresh Food Cafe has definitely become the focal point of the freshman class. Where else would you be able to get a waffle with the Johns Hopkins emblem on it or go back for a twelfth plate? The FFC is not just the freshman cafeteria, it’s our lounge, student union, study area. I’m severely going to miss seeing everyone I know at meal times or being able to eat at any hour of the day (Nolan’s only opens at 5… :( ).

These are just a few of the places at Hopkins that I especially enjoy discussing on my campus tours. Next week I’ll be discussing finals and going back to Ithaca for summer break!

March and April have absolutely been zooming by. It feels like Intersession ended just a few days ago, yet there’s less than a month left in the semester. So much has been going on: I’ve become an initiated member of Alpha Phi, I’ve experienced my first Spring Fair, and I’ve been working overtime for admissions giving tours and working the admitted student open houses! However, right now I’m only going to talk about one part: The best week of every year, Secret Week!

This super awkward photo is Paige and I at revelation discovering that our Bigs are Marisa and Bryn!

As I explained in a previous blog, as a member of a sorority, each girl receives a “Big,” a girl who they’re especially close to who becomes the basis of her close family within the larger sisterhood. Secret Week is a five day period during which the Big showers the Little in gifts, leaving notes and cryptic clues that are supposed to hint at her identity, but mostly just confuse the Little about who her Big is. The last day of Secret Week is Revelation, the day when the Big is revealed to the Little and the latter officially joins her family. In my sorority, our tradition is for Bigs to hop out of huge refrigerator boxes that they’ve decorated. We Littles also receive a teddy bear and a puzzle piece that will match with a puzzle piece on our box.

My Pham at Revelation!

My Secret Week was incredible. The best part of each gift is that they’re delivered in a funny or sweet way. Thanks to my amazing Big, the Allnighters (Hopkins’ own all-male acapella group) serenaded me with my Big^3 (the big of her big!)’s favorite song; a boy in a banana suit danced to “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” in front of a full Fresh Food Cafeteria; and my boyfriend provided the background music for three of his pledges singing a rendition of Rebecca Black’s “Friday” to me on the beach. Each day of Secret Week has a theme and mine fit me perfectly: Monday was Alpha Phi Day during which I received way more Alpha Phi gear than I could dream of including 22 tee shirts. Tuesday was Animal Day because my Big and I both love animals; she gave me hundreds of animal stickers, a bunch of cute stuffed animals, and lots of other animal-related goodies. Wednesday was Princess Day which may have been my favorite day of secret week simply because I got a Belle (my favorite Disney Princess) sippy cup and a Disney Princess backpack and towel. Thursday was party/fun day where I got lots of Alpha Phi related cups and mugs and a bunch of games. Friday was Relaxation Day where my Big delivered me Hot Chocolate, pajamas, an Aphi pillow, a rubber ducky tea strainger, and dozens of other goodies.

The best part of Secret Week by far was finding out who my Big was and getting to spend the whole night with my new Pham! I knew the second I got into Alpha Phi who I wanted my Big to be because on Pref Night (the night of recruitment where you only talk to one girl who’s supposed to be really similar to you and act as a mentor about your last decision before Bid Night), I was preffed by Bryn, a sophomore who was literally my personality twin. During my new member period we became really close and even before she became my big, she was definitely one of my best friends at Hopkins. When it came time to choose Bigs/Littles we went one to one, but that didn’t stop her and my other older sisters from tricking me all week! Depending on when you talked to me during Secret Week, I was either positive that she was my Big (“Who else would know me well enough to buy me this thing?”) or completely convinced that it was someone else instead. It was a huge relief to see Bryn pop out of my big yellow refrigerator box and finally call her my Big!

Although it’s been a little weird not getting presents anymore, it’s way more worth it to get to hang out with my Big all the time. I absolutely adore my Pham which includes my RA, Lindsay, and one of my best friends, Paige. I’m extra lucky because Bryn’s older sister is an Alpha Phi at Boston University, and even she has been sending me presents and Aphi love! I’m over two months into my sorority experience and every day I wake up even happier that I chose to rush and accept my bid to Alpha Phi!

Bryn and I at Spring Fair!